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Calgary woman accused of jury tampering in psychiatrist's trial

Former court-appointed psychiatrist Aubrey Levin, left, who is accused of sexually assaulting 10 of his patients, leaves court with his wife Erica in Calgary, Alta. on Monday, Oct. 15, 2012. (Jeff McIntosh / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

The Canadian Press
Published Friday, February 8, 2013 12:49PM EST
Last Updated Friday, February 8, 2013 10:31PM EST

CALGARY -- A Calgary woman accused of tampering with a juror during a sexual assault trial for her psychiatrist husband has been charged with obstruction of justice.

Erica Levin, 69, was taken into custody Thursday and is to appear in provincial court Feb. 14. She is also charged with contempt of court.

Police say they were contacted by Alberta Justice last month after a juror in the Dr. Aubrey Levin trial alleged she had been approached by a relative of the accused and offered cash in return for a not guilty verdict.

The juror was released and police began investigating.

In the days that followed, the 74-year-old psychiatrist was convicted of sexually assaulting a number of his court-appointed patients and sentenced to five years in prison.

The juror in question informed the court that she had been approached by a woman on a transit platform and offered a white envelope containing cash.

The wife's bail hearing heard that the attempted transaction was captured on transit video. Court heard the amount of money offered was believed to be between $1,000 and $10,000. There was no publication ban on details of the hearing.

Erica Levin's lawyer, Allan Fay, told reporters outside court on Jan. 25 that he was arranging to have his client examined by a psychiatric expert.

He also said he was not aware of any cash envelope.

"I know there's an allegation there was an envelope, but whether there was cash remains to be seen," he said at the time.

Fay said the trial had hurt his client physically, emotionally and psychologically.

"This is a woman who for the past three years has lived with her husband through hell," Fay said.

"She's been cut off from her friends. She hasn't even attended her place of worship for three years. This is a woman who's basically at the end of her rope."

Chris Archer, the psychiatrist's defence lawyer, also said Erica Levin was gravely ill.

Aubrey Levin was charged in 2010 with molesting patients who had been under court orders to seek treatment from him. The allegations came to light after one of the patients came forward with secret videos he recorded during court-ordered sessions with the psychiatrist.

The videos, played in court last fall, showed the South African doctor undoing the man's belt and jeans and appearing to fondle him.